What I fear more -- and fear that we will see first -- is deflation, which hammers debtors and acts like an intensifier for wealth (those who have it) . . . which is why Timmy Geithner et al. are so busy pushing us in that direction.
The fallout from this ecological disaster will be felt by every human on earth. Russia has never had such a heat wave in recorded history and the country is hopelessly unprepared.
Vladimir Putin bans grain exports as drought and wildfires ravage crops
• More than a third of cultivable land in Russia destroyed
• Wheat prices hit 23-month high on commodities market
Factor in this disaster. In addition to deflation or inflation plans, our loaf of bread will become much more costly.
The sad part about the dollar coins is that there's quite the demand for them, and the whole problem could be solved if the US declared, point blank, that the dollar coin would be the standard. Canada did the same thing back in the Eighties and Nineties, with the $1 and $2 coins becoming incredibly popular. The problem here is that one family controls the supply of ink and paper for the US Mint, and they make a lot of money from the continued production of $1 and $2 bills. (Now, you want a denomination nobody wants, look at the $2 Jefferson bill.) They make enough money that they can afford to buy enough Congressional lobbyists to make sure that things don't change.
That said, I've heard the complaints about how "I don't want a pocket or purse full of $1 coins." Realistically, considering how many transactions are done by credit or debit card these days, the only people complaining about having to switch out $1 bills for $1 coins are the little old ladies who are also bitching about having to pay for than a quarter for a daily newspaper. They won't be happy until we return to the days when we can buy a jug of whiskey with raccoon and beaver pelts.
One of the Mint's biggest screwups was the Susan B. Anthony dollar. It was too easy to confuse for a quarter, and that pretty much wrecked the idea of its ever gaining acceptance.
All they had to do was come up with something good-looking that wouldn't be mistaken for a quarter. But the Sacagawea coins and now the dopey presidents are pretty awful.
The Canadian $2 coin is one of the best I have ever seen, anywhere. No wonder it caught on.
We could get out of the quagmire known as Afghanistan, kill most ag subsidies (nothing more than corporate welfare), and stop paying for defense programs evene the genrals say they don't want.
And maybe look at some current tax deductions.....
Charamba, Douro 2008
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Avignonesi, Montepulciano 2004
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Purple Moon, Merlot 2011
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Abacela, Vintner's Blend No. 12
Opula Red Blend 2010
Liberte, Pinot Noir 2010
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Indian Wells Red Blend 2010
Woodbridge, Chardonnay 2011
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Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir 2009
Lello, Douro Tinto 2009
Quinson Fils, Cotes de Provence Rose 2011
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Buenas Ondas, Syrah Rose 2010
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Conundrum 2012
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Atalaya do Mar, Godello 2010
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Espiral, Vinho Rose
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14 Hands, Hot to Trot Red 2009
Rodney Strong, Cabernet, Sonoma 2009
Abacela, Vintner's Blend #11
Portuga, White 2010
La Bourgeoisie, Red 2009
Januik, Red 2009
Three Rivers, River's Red 2008
Kirkland, Alexander Valley Merlot 2008
Muga, Rioja Rose 2010
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2009
Mauro Molino, Barbera d'Alba 2009
Garda Chiaretto Rose
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Montes Alpha, Cabernet 2007
Gran Sasso, Sangiovese, Terre di Chieti 2009
Garda, Classico Chiaretto Rose
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1999
Picos del Montgo, Tempranillo 2008
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La Granja 360, Syrah 2009
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Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet 2008
Kirkland, Pinot Grigio 2010
Trader Joe's Coastal Syrah 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Merlot 2008
Trader Joe's Coastal Chardonnay 2009
Vieux Papes Red
Domaine de l'Aujardiere, Chardonnay 2009
Santa Rita, Cabernet, Medalla Real 2007
Penfold's, Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008
Guild, Red, Lot #02 2008
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Laforet, Burgogne Chardonnay 2009
Columbia Winery, Merlot 2007
Bonterra, Cabernet 2008
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2009
Maquis Lien 2006
Scott Paul, Pinot Noir, Le Paulee 2007
The Occasional Book
Neil Young - Waging Heavy Peace
Mark Bego - Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul (2012 ed.)
Jenny Lawson - Let's Pretend This Never Happened
J.D. Salinger - Franny and Zooey
Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol
Timothy Egan - The Big Burn
Deborah Eisenberg - Transactions in a Foreign Currency
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - Slaughterhouse Five
Kathryn Lance - Pandora's Genes
Cheryl Strayed - Wild
Fyodor Dostoyevsky - The Brothers Karamazov
Jack London - The House of Pride, and Other Tales of Hawaii
Jack Walker - The Extraordinary Rendition of Vincent Dellamaria
Colum McCann - Let the Great World Spin
Niccolò Machiavelli - The Prince
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries
Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Sharon Creech - Walk Two Moons
Keith Richards - Life
F. Sionil Jose - Dusk
Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting
Justin Halpern - S#*t My Dad Says
Mark Herrmann - The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
Barry Glassner - The Gospel of Food
Phil Stanford - The Peyton-Allan Files
Jesse Katz - The Opposite Field
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice
Donald Miller - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
Mitch Albom - Have a Little Faith
C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ivan Doig - Bucking the Sun
Penda Diakité - I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Grace Lin - The Year of the Rat
Oscar Hijuelos - Mr. Ives' Christmas
Madeline L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time
Steven Hart - The Last Three Miles
David Sedaris - Me Talk Pretty One Day
Karen Armstrong - The Spiral Staircase
Charles Larson - The Portland Murders
Adrian Wojnarowski - The Miracle of St. Anthony
William H. Colby - Long Goodbye
Steven D. Stark - Meet the Beatles
Phil Stanford - Portland Confidential
Rick Moody - Garden State
Jonathan Schwartz - All in Good Time
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Anthony Holden - Big Deal
Robert J. Spitzer - The Spirit of Leadership
James McManus - Positively Fifth Street
Jeff Noon - Vurt
Road Work
Miles run year to date: 21
At this date last year: 52
Total run in 2012: 129
In 2011: 113
In 2010: 125
In 2009: 67
In 2008: 28
In 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269
Comments (7)
What I fear more -- and fear that we will see first -- is deflation, which hammers debtors and acts like an intensifier for wealth (those who have it) . . . which is why Timmy Geithner et al. are so busy pushing us in that direction.
http://theautomaticearth.blogspot.com/
The tag might not say $20, but it will feel the same, or worse.
Posted by George Anonymuncule Seldes | August 16, 2010 11:55 AM
Those who owe will choose inflation. Those owed to will choose stagnation.
This is how it has happened in the past, and currently, it is those owed who seem to have the upper hand with those who implement public policy.
Posted by godfry | August 16, 2010 11:57 AM
"Hope For Inflation, Prepare For Deflation"
http://bit.ly/cRQpMd
Posted by PJB | August 16, 2010 12:00 PM
http://real-economics.blogspot.com/2010/08/russian-fires-rage-on.html
The fallout from this ecological disaster will be felt by every human on earth. Russia has never had such a heat wave in recorded history and the country is hopelessly unprepared.
Vladimir Putin bans grain exports as drought and wildfires ravage crops
• More than a third of cultivable land in Russia destroyed
• Wheat prices hit 23-month high on commodities market
Factor in this disaster. In addition to deflation or inflation plans, our loaf of bread will become much more costly.
Posted by clinamen | August 16, 2010 12:17 PM
The sad part about the dollar coins is that there's quite the demand for them, and the whole problem could be solved if the US declared, point blank, that the dollar coin would be the standard. Canada did the same thing back in the Eighties and Nineties, with the $1 and $2 coins becoming incredibly popular. The problem here is that one family controls the supply of ink and paper for the US Mint, and they make a lot of money from the continued production of $1 and $2 bills. (Now, you want a denomination nobody wants, look at the $2 Jefferson bill.) They make enough money that they can afford to buy enough Congressional lobbyists to make sure that things don't change.
That said, I've heard the complaints about how "I don't want a pocket or purse full of $1 coins." Realistically, considering how many transactions are done by credit or debit card these days, the only people complaining about having to switch out $1 bills for $1 coins are the little old ladies who are also bitching about having to pay for than a quarter for a daily newspaper. They won't be happy until we return to the days when we can buy a jug of whiskey with raccoon and beaver pelts.
Posted by Texas Triffid Ranch | August 16, 2010 1:58 PM
One of the Mint's biggest screwups was the Susan B. Anthony dollar. It was too easy to confuse for a quarter, and that pretty much wrecked the idea of its ever gaining acceptance.
All they had to do was come up with something good-looking that wouldn't be mistaken for a quarter. But the Sacagawea coins and now the dopey presidents are pretty awful.
The Canadian $2 coin is one of the best I have ever seen, anywhere. No wonder it caught on.
Posted by Jack Bog | August 16, 2010 2:02 PM
Or....
We could get out of the quagmire known as Afghanistan, kill most ag subsidies (nothing more than corporate welfare), and stop paying for defense programs evene the genrals say they don't want.
And maybe look at some current tax deductions.....
Posted by Mike H | August 16, 2010 5:08 PM